Car-door-operating mechanism.



A. E. OSTRANDER & E. R. SCHROEDER.

CAR DOOR OPERATING MEC HANISM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 5. I916- 1,244,768. Patented Oct. 30, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET I.

, In veizors Jkrai. Osframdzrfii'raasl/ESc/zmzdar A. E. OSTRANDER & E. R. SCHROEDER.

CAR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. 5. 19:6.

1,244,768. Patented Oct. 30,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

M g v Z2 iteorize A. E.'OSTRANDER & E. R. SCHROEDER.

CAR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM.

3 $HEETSSHEET 3.

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ALLEN E. OSTRANDER, OF RIDGEWOOD, AND ERN EST R. SCHROEDER, QF PATERSON, v NEYV JERSEY, ASSIGNORS '10; AMERICAN CAR AND FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY. I r l vGAR-1)0OIR-OPERATINGr NEECHANISIVL Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 30,1917.

Application filed October 5, 1816. Serial No. 123,898.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it lmown that we, 'ALLEN E. Gs'rRAN- DER and ERNEST R. SonRononR, residing at Ridgewood, Bergen 00., State of New ersey, and Paterson, Passaic county, State of New Jersey, respectively, and being citi- Zens of the United States, have'invented certain new and useful Improvements. in Car- Door-Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, suchas will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and to use the same, reference being had to thefaccompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of the ini *ention,'though 1t is to be under'stood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown anddescribed, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof within the scope of the claims will occur to persons skilled in the art.

In said drawingsz' v Figure l is a side elevationof that part of a canecar which extends from one end of the car toward theother" end for a distance great enough to include one of ;the

with one of its supporting 'brackets r emoved;

F 1g. t is the swing door being omitted;

Fig.5 is a side elevation of the slotted door-retainer arm as viewed from the vplane indicated by line 55 of Fig. 2, the direc tion of vision corresponding to thatof the arrows Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the interlock ing bushing associated with the door-retainer arm, being vlewed' n a direct on op posite that of the arrows of line 5 5 ofb V Fig. 7 is an elevational new of the double bushing bearing shown as mounted on the side sill ofl igll near the ,lattice l. cork an inverted plan view of Fig. 3,

Fig. 8 is a'horizonta'l section taken on the line 88 of Fig l, thec'ar floorbeing omitted; and 1 liigzt) is a cross sectional view through the side sill, showing the double bushing bearing and its supporting bracket at .a"'right angle to the position ofthose parts shown in Fig. 7. d

In train operating various typesfof cars areuse'd in which a plurality otj'doors are present in a car, which doors are maintained in: their closed positions by suitabledoo operatlngimeans. In former practice it has been quite common to thread a number of door-lock parts ontoan operating shaft,

after whichthe shaft is securelygmounted upon a rigid portion of the car structure. After the nstallation of such a car door-op crating mechanism, 1t is necessary to remove the shaft. and its appendages in order toreof all of the locks, and consequentlyinvolves H a great deal of unnecessary labor and expense. v i It is a purpose of the present invention to" provide a door-operating means which will eliminate so wastefula. procedure. Inits broad aspect, the invention is'ap pli'c'able to those types of cars which have side, end and botto1ndoors,'and mayalso be advantageously used in-connection with the theinvention, however, isits use in connec tion' with cane "cars in which there are a numberof doors successivelyarranged on one side vof the car, though it is to be understood that use is equally desirable where there are doors onboth sidesof thiecaryor atthe 11 the o I A I Thefinvention contemplates a door-Opel? ating mechanlsni which includes door locks,

doors'of hoppercars A special application of,

each comprising a 'pluralityjof parts,which,

when assembled condition and mounted so flas'rto "be supported by a car structure, are kept in cooperative'relationwithout the lit eral-"atta'chn'ient of one part to another, vor

Of'any' ofthe partsto the operating-shaft;

Whereit i'sdesirable, but "one door-lock may be associated with a door, and there may be a number of doors each controlled by a single door-flock, all oi the locksbeing adapt ed to be simultaneously actuateffl by appropriate means. doors, each undenthe control of a single lock, :it is. thoroughly feasible to operate each lock independently, permitting :the opening of only such door, or doors, as it is wished to place in positionfor:discharging iading.

- In. any of/the arrangements referred #to,

but especially in the instaneeotaconsider;

able number of the door-locks being affiliated. with but a singledoor, the operable parts of. anylock mayYbe-disassembled and removed from the operating shaftzwithout demounting thev latter, and in no v way [disturbin'gfthe balancev of the door-operating mechanism. Thus, if .any lock becomes broken or for any reason retusesto operate satisfactorily, it may immediately be ..r,e-. moved by one ofthe train crew,for example, and its absence will not affect the; efficieney of'thedoor-operating mechanism,

'few extra door lock parts. may: be' kept in available places and ca'nbe substituted in a lock on V a car on whichthe correspond ing part orparts are faulty. As a wrench isfthe only necessary tool:touremoveandlre,

place the parts of a doorlock, any one,

obtaining one and the necessary extra part or parts, can restore the lock to its. normal condltion audit is quite unnecessary "to re 35 turn acarto'the repair shopfforithe res toration of the door=operat1ng mechanlsn to a perfect condition- 'Suclrfeatures Les/have not already been at 'theopposite end of the car, (not. shown) av suitableflooi ing3 being supported: byan under-frame includ ng these members. Near the; illustrated end sillj2 is a latticed corner PQS mpiisin ap Of r e l y x en ngles'"4 '5, -ang le ,4 having thelidirec-,. tion ofiaplumbline andjangle'5cinclining, iny'vardly as i t .pnogresses v -upward ly until the upper'extremities of bothangles'l 5 are substantially in contact, said angles being-strongly united by, lattice barsf6. Se-

curedj tothe ipperends" of angles l arid 5 of the latticed 'corner post, is horizontal top angle" or side plate '7 whi cl1 ,may,, or

mayin e fieot, extendirom, oneend of'the 7 car to the other. Spaced rearwardlya con-' siderable distance "from the latticed corner In the case of a series of corner post, is rigidly combined with the side sill l and top angle or side plate 7, The remainderiof the ear side maybe made up of similar subdivisions forming the side structure of the car. The spaces outlined by thesiclesill, 'top,a-ngle v7 and the eolrner and partition posts, are each closed by a :swingwloor zOf gatedike construction, said door comprising a bottom door-stiffener 9, here-showmtoibea commercial angle though it-may have other form, door posts 10 and a topxlooi stiffener 11 of angle shape. ZDoor posts .10 may conveniently be I-beams and to the upper extremities of the webs thereof is secured hinge ,plateslZ pertoratedand hunger; depending eyes lg secured ,to the horizontal .flangeotthe ,top. angle or side plate 7. 'Top door-stiffener 1-1 is directly riyetedkto the ffiangeslof .the doorpost ,I- beams, while .the bottom door-stiffener is secured Ito the lower extremitiesot door post 10 by angular jconn ection plateslt riveted to. the Web of door post ,10 and to the horizontal 'fiange of doorstiffener 9 A; swing door is thus created adapted injits closed ,position to be vertically ,'ar-, ranged. and wl'iich may swing outwardly toward the; observer ot'jFi'g. 1 when it ,is desired .to discharge sugar-cane or other lading jfrom the car. ,At other times, when it is .desireldato retain lading, the swing door may be held in 'its closed POS i I- by any suitable number of doorjlocks 15, four snchloc'ks being: illustrated? in F 1.

Alock-operating shaft 16' is operably con nected with each of thedoorlocks 15 of the set associated with a single door and extends towardthe end sill 2.v At the point where it is. substantially ppositeangle .5 offthe latticed cornerpost, operating shaft 16 'is upwardly turned and {laps .angle' 5 for a suitable distance. LInEig,l,. an,other operating shaft 1 6.is illustrated and is positioned below shaft ,16, extending rearwardly? beyond the swing door illustrated, a fter which it is broken away.

,Shaft"lb isthe substantial duplicate of shaft16, butK extends rearwardlyjfor the op? era tion of other door-locks associatedwith the next. adjacent swing door, (not, shown). Door" lock-operated; shaft-.16 is also turned upwardly at its end in the manner, that shaft 16. is, but; is, positioned in SLIbStiLHlZlHl LIllDG- rnejn tgwith theIangle of the latticed corner post. Behind each of the upturned ends of the operating-shafts 16 and 16*, are doorlock slraft link slides 17 and 17*, eachof which vis quite; 'similarto the well-known grab irons attached to, car sides. The upper and lower endsof the link slides are secured by rivets to' the angles4 and 5 of the latticed;

corner post, and are spaced; away from the fiangesot those angles filllt'fllj'fi par alleljwith the car sides a suitable distance, .to permit shaft-lock links 18 to slide vertically. of. the

, designated in Fig. 5as 26 and in Fig. 6 as 27,

link "slides17 and 17, as more'fully illustrated in Fig. 8.

When links 18 are in the position shown in Fig. 1, they embrace both the upturned lever ends of lock-operating shafts 16 and 16 and the link slides 17 and17 and restrain the operating shaft lever ends fro-1n rotation. When the lever arms of the operating shafts are in this position,the latch arms 19 of the door-locks 15 occupy the positions illustrated in full lines in Figs. 2 and 3, where it is seen that they lap the vertical flanges of the angular bottom door-stiffener, 9 and prevent the door from swinging outwardly. I As best seen in Figs. 2 and 8, each doorlock 15 includes a latch arm 19 which isin the form of a casting and is provided with a hub 20 extending from oneside thereof and a segmental projection 21 extending from the opposite face. Associatedwith latch arm 19 is an interlocking'bushing 22, shown to best'advantage in Figsp2'and 6, which bushing has a flange 23 and a hub 24 similar to the hub 20 of the latch arm 19, and from the face of bushing 22 Whichis contiguous to the adjacent face of latch arm '19, extends a segmental projection 25. Door-lock operating shaft 16,- which preferably is noncircular in cross section, passes through both latch arm 19 and'interlocking bushing 22, each ofwhich is provided with a deep slot,

of a width corresponding to the thickness of shaft 16, which slot, in each-instance, reeeives shaft 16 and continues outwardly to interrupt theperimeter of the latch arm or the interlocking bushing. j c

Bearing brackets 28 are secured to the side sill 1, being disposed one on each side of the associated latch arm 19 and interlocking bushing 22. These bearing brackets 28, as

shown in Fig. 41., are angular and are perforated to receive the hubs 20 and 24 0f the latch arm 19 and interlocking bushing 22, respectively. Brackets 28 are preferably bolted to the side sill 1 to permit comparatively easy separationtherefrom. When the parts are assembled as shown in Fig. 2, latch arm 19 and interlocking bushing 22 are interlocked by reason of latch arm projection 21 extending into slot 27 of the associated interlocking bushing 22 and further by the projection 25 of interlocking bushing 22 extendinginto slot '26 of latch arm 19, as may be readily understood by consulting Figs. 2 to 6 inclusive. With latch arm 19 and its associated interlocking bushing 22 maintained in assembled position, it will be evi-V dent from the-foregoing that projection 25 of b'ushing'22 closes slot 26 of latch arm 19 and that projection 21 of said latch arm closes the slot 27 of bushing 22, so that shaft 16 is completely surrounded. Also the seating of projections 21 and 25 of the latch-arm 7 after which they are moved longitudinally'of the. shaft in opposite directions to bring them together and into the interlocking re lation just referred to; After coming into 7 said interlocking relation, they cannot be removed'by a movement transversely of the shaft'for the reason that each can onlyat any time be removed from the shaft by inov'ementv-inone' direction, and as these directions are arranged perpendicular to each other, the projections 21 and 25 of the a latch arm 19 and interlocking bushing 22, respectively, interfere with the withdrawal of either of these members in its proper direc tion, consequently once assembled'in 1nter-- locking relation, the latch arm and its asso ciated interlockingbushing of each doorlock is incapableofseparation from the shaft. To render the interlocking relation permanent as long as desired, the outwardly extending legs of the angular bearing brack-.

ets 28"are spaced only very slightly in excess of the combined widths of the flange 23 of the interlocking bushing 22 and thelocking arm'of latch arm 19, and as the outstanding; arms. of bracketbearmgs 28 embracethese' members,un ntentional separat on of them is impossible.

With the swing door closed so that the de-,

pending flange of its bottom stiffener 9 lies snbstantially against the outer face of side sill 1, as shown in Figg3, the operating han-v dle of shaft 16 may be vertically arranged as in Fig 1. "When it is so arranged, latch arm 19 ofeach door-lock 15 will be in'the' full line positionofFig. 3, and these latch arms will effectively prevent theopening of the swlng door.

crating shaft 16 maybero'tated through sub" stantially 180 to carry the latch arm 19of each door-lock into the dot anddashposition indicated in Fig. 8,}whereup0n said latch arms no longer obstruct the bottom stiffener 9 and swing door may be opened todischarge the lading. .TBGfOIG the [operating handle of shaft '16 can be turned through the I distance indicated, however, that one of the lock links 18 associated with the operating handle of thatshaft, shown inFigs land 8, must be raised'to' clear the upper end of, the

operating handle of said shaft'16, after which the operating handle in question may be 'revolved to extend downward in 'anop- Occasion arising fordis-c charg ng the sugar-cane, or other -ladln'g, from the car, the lever arm of door-look 0p;

posing direction where it will be unobtrue si ve. After the lading has been discharged,

the swing door may be returned by gravity to the position illustratedin Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive and theoperating handlepf shaft 16 may be returned to the position illustrated in Fig. 1, whereuponlock link lSassociated with that operating handle, which will have dropped bygravity, may be raised and subse quently lowered to embrace both the link slide and operating handle in question. Latch arm 19 of each of the door locks wilhof course, bereturned to the full line position by this action andthe swing 'door will-be firmly retained against opening until a repetition of the operation just set forth takes place. I t i I c Another swing door, not shown but similar to that illustrated, maybe opened and closed in like manner by actuating lower door-lock operating shaft 16*.

. Thedoor-lock bearing brackets 28 form supports for the hubs of the divisible latch comprising thelatch arm 19 and interlock-f ing bushing 22, and, therefore, also a supportfor the operating shaft 16. It is, however, desirable to support both shafts 16 and 16 at other points than at the doorlocks and forthis purpose other bearings are provided, such as the doublebearing 29 near the latticed corner post and the singlebearing 30 for shaft 16 rearwardly spaced a suitable distance therefrom. Both the single and double-bearings are of substantially the same character and the double bearing 29 comprises a bracket .31, bolted or otherwise secured to side sill 1, and upper and lower bearing bushings 32 revolubly mounted in the outstanding arnr of the bracket 31, as clearlyseen in Figs. 7 and 9. Each bearing bushing is provided with a flange 33 of greater diameter than the bracket aperture, through which the hub like portion ofthe bearing bushing extends,

Said bearing'bushings 32 are freely slid-able out of bearing bracket 31, except when cotter or other pins 3% are inserted through door-lockoperating shaft outside the bush? ing flange v33 lVitht-he cotter pinsSa in place, each bearlng bushing 32has1ts flange confined between the, outstanding arm or leg of its supportingbracket 31 and the cotter pin, and consequently cannot become disengaged from said. bracket 81.

It will be noticedin Fig. 8 that the locklink for lower operating shaft 16 of greater length than that for upper doorloclroperating shaft ;16, and shaft 16 has its emema bent outwardly into another plane.

invention consists in". the ability of repair- Asa result, either operating shaft 16 or16 may be operated independently of* 1 bre mxq un at a e y Operating door-lock without returning the car to a repair shop or calling for the assistance of askilledmechanic. Assuming that the doorlock shown in Figs. 2 to 6tinclusive is in unsatisfactory condition and it is desired to replace either the latch arm 19 or its associated interlocking"bushing 22, or to remove these members entirely, it is only neoessaryito rcmove the bolts securing one of the bearing brackets 28, thus disconnecting that bearing bracket with the side sill l. After, si1cl1 disconnection, said bearing bracket 28 may be slid longitudinally of shaft 16, and latch arm 19 and its interlocking bushing are also so slid and separated in the sliding actiona sufficient distance to withdraw the projection 21 of latch arm 19an d projection 25 of the associated interlocking bushing :22 from the slots of these cooperative P members so that each is freed from the other. Thisbeing done, latch arm 19 may be'removedby being drawn transversely off operating shaft 16 without hindrance and, similarly, interlocking bushing2'2 maybe withdrawn, as is thoroughly evident from Figs. 5 and 6. Anew latch arm and its associated bushing, or one or tlie other if both are not impaired, may be substituted and slid onto the shaft, as shown inuFigs. v5 and 6, after which they are pushed longitudinally of the shaftllo. so that they are brought into the interlocking relation illustrated in Fig. 2. The bearing bracket 281v that was detached to permit the removal of'the doorlatch and its bushing, is then brought back to its normal position-and is again bolted to side sill ,1. The door-lock isthen; restored to its original, operative condition, which may be accomplished by nO nQreskilled amechanic than one of the train crew. I In case the breakage ordisafl'ectionof the door-lock takes place while the train is in transit, the latter may be stopped and the latch arm 19 and its asso ciated. bushing 22 removed, as described, and' the train may then resume'its travel without in any way impairing'theefiiciency of the door-restraining and locking means.

versely thereof.

2. combination in a railway car, a

hinged door, a door lock therefor and a door locle operating shaft, said lock comprising shaft-supporting and door-latch members retained in such position as to be inseparable from said shaft and beingcapable of separation'and so formed that saic'llatch mem bers may be detached from said shaft by movement transversely thereof after such separation.

3. In combination in a railway car, a hinged door, a divisible door-locking latch and a door latch-operating shaft, said latch being maintained inseparable without actualconnection of its divisible portions to be undetachable from said shaft and adapted to be separated and removed transversely of said shaft.

4.. In combination in a railway car, a

hinged door, a plural-part doorlocking latch and a door latch-operating shaft, the members of said latch being individually freely removable from said shaft transversely thereof but being interlocked when assembled to be incapable of withdrawal from said shaft in any direction.

In combination in a railway car, a hinged door, a divisible door-lock, a door lock-operating shaft, said lock comprising door latch and shaft-supporting members, and means for causing the latter members to maintain said latch members in cooperative and shaft-confined relation, said means being adapted to be rendered ineffective, the door lock being divisible thereafter and said latch members then being removable transversely of said shaft.

6. In combination in a railway car, a hinged door, a door lock-operating shaft, a door lock comprising supporting brackets and interdependent latch members none having actual attachment to said shaft, and means so correlating said brackets and latch members that the latter co-act and are shaftconfined, said brackets and latch members being separable longitudinally of said shaft and said latch members being removable trans ersely thereof after a nullification of said correlating means.

'7. In combination in a railway car, a hinged door, a door latch comprising associated members socketed one into the other in a manner preventing relative rotation of said members, 'a latch-operating shaft to which said latch members are confined by their socketed relation adapted to rotate said members in unison, said members being releasable from said shaft intermediate it's ends by movement longitudinally and trans- Versely thereof.

8. In combination in a railway car, a hinged door, a door lock-operating shaft and a door lock comprising door latch members and supporting brackets soeketed into each other to be shaft-confined, said latch members being socketed so as to be relatively non-rotative and revoluble in said brackets and said brackets and latches being separable longitudinally of said shaft and said latches being removable transversely of the shaft after such separation.

9. In combination in a railway car, a

able onto and off said shaft in a single direc;

tion that isdifferent from the direction of sliding of its associated member, and means on each member preventing its associated member from, sliding off said shaft. I

10. In combination in a railway car, a hinged door, a door latch-operating shaft, a door latch comprising a plurality of associated: shaft-embracing members each slidableonto and off said shaft in a single direction that is different from the direction of sliding of, its associated member, and means on each member preventing its associated member from sliding off said shaft, said members being separable to unrelate said means and become subject to removal from said shaft.

11. In combination in a railway car, a hinged door, a door lock-operating shaft, a door lock comprising associated latch members assembled so that each of said members co-acts with its associated member to prevent the same from being disconnected from said shaft when said members are in the state of assembly specified, and means preventing removal of said latch members from either end of said shaft, said associated latch members being capable of being placed in irrelative positions and then removed from said shaft. 12. In combination in a railway car, a door, a noncircular door lockoperating shaft, and a door lock comprising supporting brackets mounted on the car structure and a latch comprising a latch arm and a cooperative bushing each provided with a shaft-receiving slot conformed to the shaft section and projections on said latch arm andv bushing extending, respectively, into the slots of said bushing and arm and preventing either from being withdrawn from said shaft, said arm, bushing and brackets being capable of separation longitudinally of said shaft to permit said arm and bushing to be withdrawn transversely thereof.

13. In combination in a railway car, a door, a non-circular door lock-operating shaft, and a door lock comprising supporting brackets mounted on the car structure and a latch comprising a latch arm and 2. c0 operative bushing each provided with hubs revolubly supported in said brackets and also with a shaft-receiving slot conformed to the shaft section and projections on said latch arm and bushing extending, respectively, int-o the slots of said bushing and arm and preventing either from being with drawn from said shaft, said arm, bushing and brackets being capable of separation longitudinally of said shaft to permit said arm and bushing to be withdrawn transversely thereof.

14. In combination in a railway car, a

"g1 ig z zgm door, a (100i 100k fihei'efol", a non-cirnlar W'thdia'wal of said bnhing' fre'm' sh-id dobi' lock-epein ting shaftand 2 support for bihkt. said Shaft eo'rnprising a bracket secured to In Witness whereof We have hereunto-set the car struei'tire Iand hilljviflllg a perforlted oufhands in'the presenceof two Witnesses. portion, :1 cy incri'cal 'ns' ing eXtening throngh the bill'cket perforation and pr0- vided with a. flange incapable of passing m therethrengh, and removable means secured fitnjeses:

' t aid 's11aft preventing the flanged end of L; V; JOYCE,- 10 sald'bushlng movlng m a dlrectlon'to allow J; H. VERMEULEN.

Gbpies Of this patent may be obtained fdr fi've cents each, by addlsingthe Commissioner of Patents, I washingtb'n; D'; 0. 

